Terrors in the Night
by une-fan-de-la-liturature
Summary: Erwin Smith has woken up from a nightmare in a panic. You do what you can to help him calm down. ErwinxReader fic. Please read and enjoy! oneshot (kinda focuses on PTSD so if you're sensitive about that sort of thing, then you don't have to read this fic)


**Here's something for those Commander Erwin fans out there. This is my first ReaderxCharacter fic so feel free to comment on anything (I take criticism very well I promise c: ). If I have any other ideas, I might just write more of them. Enjoy!**

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Commander Erwin Smith quickly sat up in bed scrambling to remove the covers entangling around his body. He was hyperventilating and was attempting to pull himself together. Tears were building up heavily in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep them from falling down his face.

Hearing his distress, you sit up and make him look at you while speaking words of comfort. His blue eyes are set in a panic as he stares at you. "What was it this time?" you ask him softly as soon as he is able to somewhat focus on your voice.

"It was different this time," he replies gasping in deep breaths, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his elbows on his knees while putting his head in his hands. Just as soon as he was in this position, he extends his legs again and throws the remaining blankets off of him. "It's so hot…" he murmurs, falling back on to the pillow and covering his face with his arm.

"How was it different?" you continue questioning him. "What happened?"

His face contorts as he holds in his tears again. He still has not fully calmed down. Suddenly, he sits up and jumps out of the bed. "I need to check on them…" he mutters anxiously, making his way towards the door to the bedroom. "I need to make sure they're all alive… I need to make sure…"

You scramble out of the sheets and follow after him. "Erwin!" you call as the door slams shut. You pursue him as he walks dazedly towards the cadet dormitories. He stops at every door, opens them, and then shuts them, seeming more relieved after each one. Ignoring you (or maybe he did not notice you following him in his stupor), he walks past you and back to the bedroom. "Erwin!" you say again as you enter into the room, closing the door quietly behind you.

He turns to you as you come in. "(Name)," he says quietly.

You walk to him and put your arms around his firm torso. "What happened in your nightmare?" you once again ask, looking up at him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he says dismissively, avoiding your gaze.

"Erwin, these night terrors aren't going to stop unless you talk about them," you tell him firmly. "Don't shut me out," you plead. "Let me help you."

He looks at you, letting the tears flow down his cheeks. "All of them…" he starts. "All of the cadets… Slaughtered by a hoard of 15 meter class titans… Because I made a stupid mistake. _I made a mistake and got them all killed._ _**Every last one of them.**_"

You cup his face in your hands and wipe away the tears from his eyes with your thumbs. With one hand you smooth back his ruffled blond hair and the other you trace down his chest. "It was only a nightmare," you inform him gently. "It wasn't real."

He grabs the hand you have on his chest and squeezes it lightly. "No," he says firmly. "I have done it before. In real life. The only difference were the faces in the dream." He nods his head in the direction of the cadet dormitories. "Their faces."

This comment quiets you for a moment. "Oh, Erwin…" is all you can say. Words are hard to come by. Nothing comes to your mind to form syllables in your mouth. But… You _feel _as if you have to say _something._ Finally, the only thing that comes to mind is physical touch. It has worked before, why would it not work now? "Come," you say pulling him by his hand, back towards the bed. "We have a few hours to sleep still."

"I don't want to sleep," Erwin replies childishly letting you pull him to the bed.

You pat the mattress beside you and he sighs before sliding in next to you. You wrap your arms around him and snuggle close to him. He returns the embrace and kisses you tenderly on your forehead. "Well, we don't have to sleep just yet," you whisper into the crook of his neck. You feel him shift to look down at you and you laugh lightly. "Only if you want," you say with a smile, knowing what he thought you meant.

He shakes his head. "No," he says corresponding with the movement of his head. "Being like this is what I want. Stay with me," he says kissing your head again. "...I want to know that you are here..."

"I'm not ever going to leave," you reply kissing his neck. "I'm here."

You both lay there in the bed, shifting positions every so often, but never leaving the other's arms. You talk a little more about other things to keep Erwin's mind off of his nightmare. Eventually you realize he has fallen into a deep and peaceful slumber. You smile and rest your head on his arm, wrap your leg over his own, and put your free hand on his chest until you too are asleep.

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**Thank you for reading! Feel free to check out my profile and take a look at my other stories! More fanfics are sure to come (eventually ._. )**


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